Table of Contents

Q201 - PHP version 4, or earlier, detected
Description
Workaround
About JoomlaPack warnings

Q201 - PHP version 4, or earlier, detected

Severity: Low

Description

JoomlaPack detected that your server is running a deprecated version of PHP (PHP 4.x). As of August 2008, PHP 4 is no longer supported by the PHP development team. New security issues can arise, but they will not be resolved. This poses a potential security threat to your site. Furthermore, Joomla! 1.6 will require PHP 5 to operate. If you don't like nasty surprises, you should upgrade your PHP version.

As far as JoomlaPack is concerned, there are good reasons to use PHP 5. PHP 5 offers more flexibility to JoomlaPack, including time-saving functions which have to be otherwise implemented with workarounds. Fewer workarounds lead to faster execution, using less memory too, and therefore are less prone to server time-outs. Especially when using the ZIP archiver, users are requested to use PHP 5.1.2 or later so as not to get seemingly corrupt ZIP files.

Workaround

If you are running your own server, you should follow your operating system's instructions for upgrading to PHP 5. If you are on a commercial host, first check their Control Panel; most hosts offer an option to upgrade or switch your account to PHP 5. If your host doesn't support PHP 5, make sure they are planning to switch over in the next few months, or find another host. In any other case you risk security leaks and broken compatibility with future versions of Joomla! and many other web applications (forums, galleries, blog software, etc).

About JoomlaPack warnings

JoomlaPack detects potential issues which might negatively impact the backup process. Many of them are caused by specific PHP configurations. The cause of those issues is mostly or thoroughly known, but since it resides in the server configuration which JoomlaPack can not control we can't provide some "patch" or bug fix to solve them. We try to provide practical solutions or workarounds instead.

The severity of each of these warnings is displayed on the top of this help screen. There are three levels: low, medium and high. The "Low" level implies that the detected issue will most probably have no impact on you. "Medium" level warnings have a higher chance of causing problems, but the proposed workaround may be applied to alleviate its effects. "High" level warnings should be treated as errors; the detected issue will cause backup failure unless the proposed workaround is applied.

Remember, if all else fails, contact us on our support forum . We are here to help you. Please, before posting to the forum, try to follow the "workaround" procedure outlined above and tell us that you did try the proposed solution before asking us for support.